[ once upon a time, he'd been known throughout mondsdadt as the shadow to the ragnvindr heir's light, the moon to his sun, always trailing slightly behind like the cool breeze of autumn towards the end of the hot summer days. those who called him so usually said it with a curl of pity or derision, as if following in diluc's footsteps was somehow shameful instead of the best damn thing that's ever happened to him, as if he wouldn't have been content doing so for the rest of his life. how many nights had he spent sleepless staring up at the stars back then, torn between wishing desperately these halcyon days as diluc's right-hand man and confidante could last forever and wishing desperately that the people of his homeland could too one day look up and see something other than the ruined sky above?
it's been a few years and a lifetime since then, and destiny and their own choices have decreed them walk separate paths than the naive dreams of their youth. even so, the instant he sees diluc falter and begin to fall, kaeya's body moves forward on instinct as if no time's passed at all, bracing him on his back before he can hit the ground. for all their estrangement, he slides into diluc's space exactly as fluidly as he used to, quick dancing steps covering all the blind spots to the other's brute force, fitting as perfectly into the gaps left behind as water into a glass.
...the extra weight is new however, knocking the breath out of his lungs in a wheeze. ]
Oof! Just how many extra claymores are you packing under there?
[ much as he tries to act nonchalant, he can't quite keep the sharp concern out of his voice. diluc's always run warmer than most, but the searing line of heat weighing down his back feels less like the cozy blanket he remembers and more like a sweltering sauna, even through all their layers of clothing. with one hand supporting diluc so he doesn't flop off like a slug, he removes the glove from his other hand with his teeth and reaches up to place it against his forehead, hissing when it burns so hot he swears his palm will blister. ]
...seriously? [ it's a good thing no one is likely to stumble across the two of them in the middle of the night here, because his reputation as a smooth and silvertongued charmer will never recover from the way exasperation colors his tone now like a nagging grandmother. ] Master Hero, as incompetent and slow as we meagre knights are, I assure you we can fight nearly as well as a man with a fever high enough to melt the caps of Dragonspine. You could have just stayed in bed.
[ there'll be too many questions if he drags the both of them into the audience of gossiping drunks still lingering around angel's share; it's a bit of a distant walk, but the winery will be the best option to deposit diluc's flu-ridden body and leave him under the tender mercy of adelinde. he staggers one step forward, then two, and promptly changes his mind - his apartment it is! ]
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it's been a few years and a lifetime since then, and destiny and their own choices have decreed them walk separate paths than the naive dreams of their youth. even so, the instant he sees diluc falter and begin to fall, kaeya's body moves forward on instinct as if no time's passed at all, bracing him on his back before he can hit the ground. for all their estrangement, he slides into diluc's space exactly as fluidly as he used to, quick dancing steps covering all the blind spots to the other's brute force, fitting as perfectly into the gaps left behind as water into a glass.
...the extra weight is new however, knocking the breath out of his lungs in a wheeze. ]
Oof! Just how many extra claymores are you packing under there?
[ much as he tries to act nonchalant, he can't quite keep the sharp concern out of his voice. diluc's always run warmer than most, but the searing line of heat weighing down his back feels less like the cozy blanket he remembers and more like a sweltering sauna, even through all their layers of clothing. with one hand supporting diluc so he doesn't flop off like a slug, he removes the glove from his other hand with his teeth and reaches up to place it against his forehead, hissing when it burns so hot he swears his palm will blister. ]
...seriously? [ it's a good thing no one is likely to stumble across the two of them in the middle of the night here, because his reputation as a smooth and silvertongued charmer will never recover from the way exasperation colors his tone now like a nagging grandmother. ] Master Hero, as incompetent and slow as we meagre knights are, I assure you we can fight nearly as well as a man with a fever high enough to melt the caps of Dragonspine. You could have just stayed in bed.
[ there'll be too many questions if he drags the both of them into the audience of gossiping drunks still lingering around angel's share; it's a bit of a distant walk, but the winery will be the best option to deposit diluc's flu-ridden body and leave him under the tender mercy of adelinde. he staggers one step forward, then two, and promptly changes his mind - his apartment it is! ]